Energy Ogre: Grab a recent electric bill and head to www.energyogre.com. Enter some basic information from your bill and within minutes, Energy Ogre lets you know if it can save you money. If it can, you pay the company for one year, either $10 a month or $120 up front. Once you sign up, the company keeps looking at energy plans to make sure you're always getting the lowest rate possible. When you sign up with Energy Ogre, your electric bill and the $10 monthly fee is set on auto-pay so you don't have to worry about remembering to pay each month. More info
But in Houston, where there are 52 companies on Power to Choose each offering several different power plans, there might be too many choices. Economists have found that when confronted with a large number of choices, most people tend to do nothing. In one well-known behavioral economics experiment, researchers set out six samples of fruit jams at a grocery store, enticing 30 percent of shoppers to buy the product. But when they increased the number of samples to 24, only 3 percent of shoppers made a purchase.

†Offer is available to Texas residential customers who enroll using the Promotion Code “NIGHTSFREE”. Plan bills a monthly Base Charge, an Energy Charge, and passes through Utility Transmission and Distribution delivery charges. Energy Charges for usage consumed between 9pm and 7am each day is credited back on your bill. The utility charges, including delivery charges for night time hours, are passed through at cost and aggregated on your bill. See Electricity Facts Label for details.

Texas deregulated most of the state's electricity markets in 2002, a move aimed at lowering electricity costs by letting consumers choose their own electric power providers and their own plans. Some parts of Texas continued to be regulated, including those that get power from municipal utilities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities that operate outside the state's primary power grid.

Electric bills for customers in the Houston area can more than double in summer months, mainly because air conditioning. Not coincidentally, electric rates also rise in the summer months because of this increase in demand. The most dramatic rate increases occur in month-to-month plans, but electric rates do increase across the board for all fixed-rate contract lengths.
TXU is high because they charge their customers for the "fuel" to run their power plants - that's what the supervisor told us when we called to complain about my godmother's bill. Her actual usuage was $350 and they charged her an additional $350. And she didn't understand the bill so she had been paying it for months until we started looking at it. They are a rip off. Would never recommend them.
Finding the best electricity company in Houston for your home doesn't have to be difficult. Here at Direct Energy, we are committed to helping you Use Less of What We Sell™ with our personalized energy insights tool Direct Your Energy. Take control of your electricity cost and your Houston power bill with easy energy usage tracking and energy efficiency insights.
Patrick Mays, an engineer for an oil and gas company in Houston, recently went shopping for a new electricity plan and found that the best deal available would cost about 55 percent more than what he’s paying, boosting his average rate to 9.5 cents per kilowatt hour from 6.1 cents under his expiring 12-month contract. The power bills for his 2,000-square foot home will climb an average of $30 a month over the year, he said, but he will take the brunt of the rate increase during the hot summer when he estimates his monthly bill will top out at $186, nearly double the $95 he paid last year.
Even though customers in deregulated Texas markets routinely pay more for electricity, there is a bright spot. The gap between the average price paid for electricity between deregulated and regulated market has shrunk to 8.8 percent. In 2006, customers in deregulated cities were paying nearly 47 percent more for electricity than their counterparts in regulated cities.

In the Houston area, only 16 percent of CenterPoint Energy’s 2.4 million residential customers — or about one in six — switched their electricity providers over the past year, according to the state’s grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Among the 3.5 million customers of the state’s largest electric distribution utility, Oncor of Dallas, just 13 percent — only one in eight — signed up with a new retail power company in the last 12 months.

Since 2002, Amigo Energy has been one of the best electric companies in Texas. Not only that, but more recently we’ve received far fewer Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUC) complaints than most other large residential electricity providers across the state.2 In fact, our customer service gets even better over the phone because our call-in customers have yet to file a PUC complaint this year.3 This ain’t our first rodeo—with over 15 years of experience and a track record of reliable service, you can trust Amigo Energy as your retail electricity provider.
Houston is becoming much greener, and all signs indicate that the city will continue to be a leader in the renewable energy sector. Green energy in Houston is widely available for consumers. Choose Energy has partnered with Amigo Energy and Green Mountain Energy, two trusted green energy suppliers in Houston. The city's energy efficiency rank typically falls within the top ten, and no other municipality buys more renewable energy. Recently, Causes.com rated the city the 10th greenest in the nation.
Where should you shop for electricity? Houstonians have the power to choose from an overwhelming variety of energy suppliers, plans, and options. If you live in the Houston metro area and your local electric utility is CenterPoint, over 50 different retail electricity providers currently offer electricity plans in your area. Each of these electricity providers offer sites, tools, and information on how to switch plans and providers. However, their information is often filled with electricity rates that are difficult to compare because of things like introductory rates, bill credits, narrow usage levels, unexpected fees, and legalese buried in the EFLs. Fortunately, Houston homes and businesses have electricity shopping options that make the process much simpler.

Although electricity prices in the UK aren't cheap some countries have it much worse. In this article I'm going compare internationally to look at who is paying more $/kWh for their energy. I’ve gathered some numbers and crunched a little data to see who is really paying a lot for their power. For my neighbour here in the UK I’ll add a bit more data at the end.

Texas deregulated most of the state's electricity markets in 2002, a move aimed at lowering electricity costs by letting consumers choose their own electric power providers and their own plans. Some parts of Texas continued to be regulated, including those that get power from municipal utilities, electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities that operate outside the state's primary power grid.

After spending so much time and energy with energy companies, I figure I should pass this info onto the internet world (within Houston). I am a Centerpoint Energy resident (you don't get to choose the electricity provider you have; it's based on where the electricity is provided). I think Houston is predominantly a Centerpoint energy area (correct me if I'm wrong).

Ultimately, analysts said, this means that the vast majority of customers are not reaping the benefits of electricity deregulation, which promised that more competition would mean healthy savings. One analyst estimates that consumers are leaving about $2 billion a year on the table, which is likely flowing to the bottom lines of retail electricity companies.

No matter who you are, residents and business owners in Texas have to have electricity. Understanding electricity rates in Houston can be overwhelming at first. At SaveOnEnergy.com®, our job is to help you explore your Houston energy options. The more you learn about electric companies in your area, the easier your decision will be when you choose an energy plan.

Ultimately, analysts said, this means that the vast majority of customers are not reaping the benefits of electricity deregulation, which promised that more competition would mean healthy savings. One analyst estimates that consumers are leaving about $2 billion a year on the table, which is likely flowing to the bottom lines of retail electricity companies.

Another unwelcome side effect of not knowing your average monthly kWh usage level is that you may end up paying more than you expect. This can occur when a customer inadvertently shops an electric rate based on a higher usage level than they actually use. Electricity suppliers commonly advertise their electric rates associated with the highest (2000 kWh) usage levels since those tend to be the lowest rates.
One of the best advantages of living in an energy deregulated state is the number of options you have for receiving your electric utilities from renewable energy sources. Electricity providers in Ashburn understand how important finding renewable energy sources are, both to their customers and to the environment. Sadly, in states that don't have deregulated energy, there is less of a push towards renewable energy because there is no market competition driving electricity providers to find sustainable and affordable energy sources.

​2002 ​With the restructuring of the electric market in Texas, the company spun off its retail electric as Reliant Resources. Within two years, the company would also sell its electric generation assets. The remaining mostly regulated energy delivery company adopted the name CenterPoint Energy to reflect our role in the center of the energy value chain and the center of our customers' lives.

We use our experience and connections in the electricity industry to find a plan that fits your needs. We provide you with a detailed report, with recommendations for making the right choice, so you can make an informed decision about which rate and plan are right for you. Once you select and approve your change, we handle it from there, so your transition to a new electricity provider is hassle-free. Have questions about switching to a lower electricity rate and a new service plan? Please call us today at 214-446-2210, or send us an email.

Since 2002, Amigo Energy has been one of the best electric companies in Texas. Not only that, but more recently we’ve received far fewer Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUC) complaints than most other large residential electricity providers across the state.2 In fact, our customer service gets even better over the phone because our call-in customers have yet to file a PUC complaint this year.3 This ain’t our first rodeo—with over 15 years of experience and a track record of reliable service, you can trust Amigo Energy as your retail electricity provider.
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Canadian electricity is cheap at 10 US cents per kilowatt hour, which is reflected in their high average electricity usage. US electricity prices at 0.12 $/kWh are also quite cheap internationally. In India and China they are very cheap. The UK is in the middle at 20 cents. It’s relatively expensive globally but not too bad for Europe, where most countries pay a high share of tax on their power.

Oncor, the state’s largest distribution utility which covers Dallas, Fort Worth and much of North Texas, has already agreed to pass all of the millions of dollars of expected tax savings along to consumers. Oncor agreed to pass the savings along to customers as part of a rate review which is a formal process in which the PUC reviews the appropriateness of rates being charged by the utility. No exact details have been determined with respect to how the savings will be passed along. The rate review was actually completed before the tax reform bill was passed but there was a commitment in principle to passing along the savings. It’s not yet know exactly how much Oncor will save from the lower corporate tax rates but with a $245 million tax bill in 2017 future saving are likely to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

My True Cost: This website is owned and operated by CenterPoint Energy. When you input your smart meter number, the website can use your usage data to tell you how much your electric bill will be if you picked various plans on its website. CenterPoint charges the Retail Electric Providers if they want to be listed on this site, so there are far fewer plans here than on Power to Choose. When we compared for an inner loop address, there were 83 plans on My True Cost compared to 179 on Power to Choose. You may be missing less expensive plans if you don't look at the state's website also. More info
Houston is becoming much greener, and all signs indicate that the city will continue to be a leader in the renewable energy sector. Green energy in Houston is widely available for consumers. Choose Energy has partnered with Amigo Energy and Green Mountain Energy, two trusted green energy suppliers in Houston. The city's energy efficiency rank typically falls within the top ten, and no other municipality buys more renewable energy. Recently, Causes.com rated the city the 10th greenest in the nation.